Police arrest more suspects over k!lling of Benue professor, brother, say ∆ttack was ∆ssassination

Police arrest more suspects over killing of Benue professor, brother, say attack was assassination

The Benue police command says more suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing of Gabriel Nyityo, a professor, and his younger brother, Iorngee John Nyityo.

Speaking at a press briefing on in Makurdi on Friday, Cletus Nwadiogbu, police commissioner in Benue, said the July 8 killing of Nyityo and his brother in Adaka community was an assassination and not a robbery.

He said operatives attached to the D division responded to a distress call at about 2 am and recovered the victims’ bodies.

According to him, security agencies immediately activated checkpoints across the area, leading to the arrest of the prime suspect, Abdullahi Usman, 23, from Awe LGA of Nasarawa state.

The police commissioner said the suspect was apprehended while attempting to evade security operatives at a checkpoint mounted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lafia about four hours after the incident.

“He felt the NDLEA checkpoint was not manned by policemen and decided to walk across. Unknown to him, the officers had already received information about the incident,” he said.

“They searched him, recovered a phone and from the phone we established that he was one of the suspects.”

Nwadiogbu said security agencies in Nasarawa, including the Department of State Services (DSS), widened the investigation, leading to additional arrests.

“They have made more arrests of those who came with him, and they have assured us they will hand them over,” he said.

“We are also determined to identify and arrest those who assisted them within Benue because there must have been local collaborators.”

He added that preliminary investigations suggest that some of the criminal gangs responsible for attacks in Makurdi operate from neighbouring Nasarawa state and usually return after carrying out their operations.

 

The commissioner did not disclose the number of the suspects arrested, noting that investigations are ongoing.

He also dismissed reports that armed bandits had mounted roadblocks on the Makurdi-Lafia highway.

“That information was false. It was the handiwork of enemies who wanted to divert our attention and create panic. We patrolled the road from one end to the other. Nothing happened. People travelled freely throughout,” he said.

‘IGP DIDN’T ORDER REMOVAL OF LEGAL POLICE CHECKPOINTS’

 

Nwadiogbu also clarified that Olatunji Disu, the inspector-general of police (IGP), had not directed the removal of legitimate police checkpoints across the country.

“We are only removing illegal roadblocks mounted by individuals or groups who have no authority to stop road users. Security agencies will continue to perform their lawful duties on our highways,” he said.

The commissioner said operatives of the command arrested 10 suspects between June and July over the killing of two Fulani leaders after a peace meeting in Ohimini LGA.

He added that prompt intervention prevented the incident from escalating into a wider communal crisis involving Benue and Cross River states.

He also said operatives neutralised suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in separate operations across Makurdi, Katsina-Ala and Logo LGAs, recovering four AK-47 rifles, six locally made pistols, 23 rounds of live ammunition, two motorcycles, mobile phones and charms.

Nwadiogbu said police recovered a stolen commercial motorcycle from a robbery suspect arrested in Guma LGA, while raids on criminal hideouts in Katsina-Ala led to the arrest of 15 suspects and the recovery of three bags of substances suspected to be cannabis.

He added that five suspected herders were arrested in Guma for allegedly grazing cattle on cultivated farmlands, while seven suspects were apprehended in Naka over the killing of a man during the burial of a youth leader.

The police commissioner also said a woman was arrested in Ukum LGA for allegedly setting a house ablaze, resulting in the deaths of two children.

On cult-related activities, Nwadiogbu said one suspect was arrested after a clash between rival cult groups in Makurdi, while 12 suspected cult members were apprehended in Gboko during what investigators described as an annual cult meeting.

He further disclosed that police arrested a suspect linked to the attack on the Otukpo-Nobi community and obtained information on those believed to have aided the assailants.

Nwadiogbu also said seven Pakistani nationals intercepted during a security operation at a hotel in Otukpo were found with valid travel documents and told investigators they were in Nigeria to conduct a market survey ahead of establishing an electronics business.

He said the foreigners remain under profiling by the state criminal investigation department.